Nick's Captive Christmas
by Kulkum
Summary: Judy Hopps has been on the ZPD for eight years, working hard to earn the respect of her co-workers and the city. Along the way, she encounters an up and coming young street hustler. As time passes and seasons change, will feelings change as well? (Christmas Special! Enjoy!)
1. Chapter 1

Captive Christmas

Everywhere outside of the city, a layer of freshly fallen snow three feet deep coated the ground in shimmering piles - soft, fluffy mounds of white. She knew this because of the weather reports, her parents calling to let her know to expect snow for her trip home, and because the weather near the waterfront of the Docks District was showing the first light dustings of snow flurries as the temperature dropped below freezing. Any other time, she would have enjoyed the way tiny white flakes of endless variety dusted the front of her car and splatted against her windshield to be swept away by the windshield wipers; the way the first few minutes of it touched the ground only to melt instantly until the ground was cold enough for it to stick; the way it suited the holiday by making everything seem bright and new; and the way it made her feel safe and cozy in her ZPD-issued, unmarked car with the heater keeping the cold at bay.

Chief Investigator Hopps would have enjoyed it a great deal. Except that she was staring through that windshield at the orange and cream fur of a fox huddled against the cold under a bridge. He sat in front of a tiny fire that broke three city ordinances against camping within the city limits and vagrancy, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he held his large red paws out towards what warmth he could find. The rolling in her stomach - a fluttery feeling that normally came for a completely different reason when she saw this particular young hustler on the streets of Zootopia - was one of a dozen quick reactions to the sight.

" _I don't celebrate Christmas, Carrots. I'll just go home, cozy up next to a warm fire, and relive fond memories of our little chats."_

A warm fire. _This_ was the warm fire he had gone home to in the home that he didn't have? She knew he didn't have any family left, and she had intended to surprise him. Pay him a little visit, maybe get a few things off her chest in the process. Such as how, in the two years that she had known the slick street hustler, she had come to see that he was more than a sly crook who danced right outside of the line of law. She remembered watching him perform sleight of paw tricks to entertain children. She had seen him slip his hard-hustled bucks into the pocket of a down-on-his-luck gazelle who had been too deeply asleep to even notice, much less thank the kind-hearted fox. She had planned to tell him that what had started out as an unfriendly relationship based entirely on her desire to catch him committing a crime had evolved into a friendship. And that friendship, at least on her end, had evolved further into attraction and a desire for more. She had even planned it all out, seeing herself standing at his door with every intention of wooing the rogue, and desperately hoping that he wouldn't laugh in her face.

That had been before she realized that he didn't have a door. He didn't have a home for a door to be attached to. From the scattered but neatly stacked boxes and spread clothes under the bridge, this _was_ his home and had been for some time. She had known him for two years and not once had it crossed her mind to check. He was always so cocky and smooth, so easy going and untouchable. The idea that he had been homeless this entire time and she hadn't even bothered to check made her chest ache until she was forced to rub at the surface of her sweater with one paw in an attempt to ease it.

"Dumb fox," she whispered to herself, though the little bit of anger that started to rise in her because he hadn't told her this monumentally important detail was mostly focused on herself. Eight years in Zootopia. Eight years in the ZPD working her way up through the ranks to Chief Investigator despite every chip stacked against her, and she had been unable to see that the fox - the fox that _she_ was falling for - was homeless.

The blast of cold that hit her when she shoved the car door open was hardly felt, even as the sharp drop in temperature caused her nose to flush and pinken. The red, Christmas sweater that her mother had given her last year, complete with a fully decorated Christmas tree knitted on her chest, and hip-hugging blue jeans were hardly enough to fend off the freezing temperatures. She didn't notice the chill, though, as she crossed the road and walked into the little gully leading under the bridge. She saw his ears perk and head raise at the sound of her approach, green eyes instantly finding violet. The handsome vulpine face registering surprise in one moment, shame and mortification the next, and then - after a deep breath that she had seen him use to gather himself before - he put on the hustler face, a charming grin.

"Hey Carrots," came his ever-smooth tone as he drew himself to his feet and unfolded what she realized was a clean, but torn and old, blanket. "Fancy meeting you here. I… just stopped for a little rest before heading home and…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" he asked, but his tone lowered at the end and his ears dropped when she just held his eyes and said nothing for a long moment.

"That you're living under a bridge, for one thing," she said, trying to keep her tone even when she felt the telling tremble start to rise. "I know how much you make, Wilde. Why didn't you at least get a hotel room? It's freezing out here!"

"You see, this is why I didn't want to tell you," he shot back, his muzzle pulled into a frown as he paced back to the little fire and crouched down to hold his paws out in front of it. "Lecture, lecture, lecture. I'll be fine, Investigator. I always am. I don't know why you suddenly care, anyway."

A pang of hurt struck when he addressed her by her title in a matter of fact tone, rather than one of the many pet names he used for her. Combined with the truth of his words, the fact that she had never bothered to check on his living arrangements had her lowering her eyes to her paws for a long moment. The way he said it. It was almost as if he had been waiting for her to realize, or to care enough to check. She shoved the regret aside as she walked over to stand beside him, one paw resting on his shoulder. "Come on, Nick."

"Come on what?" he said, shrugging her paw off as he drew himself to his feet, tail thrashing behind him in agitation. He moved for the blanket, but stopped when he found her standing unmoving in his way. They stood facing each other in the cold, snow drifting down around them in gentle swirls that had both shades of fur lightly dusted in white now. The gray-furred bunny in the cheerful red sweater, a respected and well-liked member of the ZPD, watching with a determined and slightly annoyed look on her face. And the young fox in black slacks and a navy-blue button up shirt, a street hustler that most people looked down on as a fox on the path to nowhere, looking a little ashamed and ready to end the conversation. They could not have looked more different if they tried.

"You're going to have to come home with me," she said at last, placing her paws on her full hips as she watched him for a reaction.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, clearly stunned for a moment. Then his face cleared into a grin that had the very tips of his canines showing and a playful light coming back into his eyes. Both of these things made that fluttery feeling return and hit her hard. "Why Carrots, I had no idea that your tastes turned towards fox. What would your mother say?"

"Don't be a smartass," she frowned, heat rising till she was forced to let her ears drop over her shoulders so he wouldn't see the clear and bright blush rise in them. If only he knew how true it was… But now wasn't the time to let him know that. She might have been at his 'door' but she wasn't going to make it seem like her offer had anything to do with sex. "You know that's not what I meant. And we're going to find out either way, because I don't mean my house. I don't have time to take you to my apartment, so you're going to come home to Bunnyburrow with me for the holidays."

The looks on his face ran through several emotions; from surprise, to flat out fear, to annoyance for a moment, before he broke out into a laugh. "Oh, that's a good one. For a second there, I thought you said you were taking me home to meet your parents for Christmas. I can see it now: 'Oh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Carrots. I have no idea why I am here but I am a homeless fox that your daughter decided to take pity on and bring home for the holidays.' 'Mom, dad, can I keep him?'"

The little play where he acted out all characters was similar to another conversation between them in the past, where she had offered to help him find a real job, so the sharp edge of sarcasm in his voice didn't bother her at all. His words about keeping him brought a little grin to her face as she slipped her paw into her back pocket. As he turned to walk away from her again, she shot her paw out and grabbed his. The fox stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of pawcuffs snapping onto his wrist and the clicks of the other cuff being tightened around her own so he couldn't escape. He turned and stared down at their cuffed paws, raising his to dangle and wiggle it a bit in a silly moment where he seemed to be deciding if what he was seeing was real before he turned his narrowed gaze to hers.

"Did you just cuff me?"

She hadn't considered it at first, but the idea of an arrest struck her as a good one. It might tone down his resistance, at least it might if she played it the right way.

"Nicholas Wilde, you'reunder arrest," she said in a tone of authority that she used very well after eight years on the force and a few hundred arrests.

"Because I don't want to be dragged along to a pity Christmas? What are the charges?" he said, tilting his head as he leaned closer to her with one paw on his knee. "Hurting your feewings?"

"Vagrancy, as well as starting an uncontrolled fire within the city limits," she said, and had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop wide, and his smug look fall to one of shock, before she walked over to his little fire to kick some snow onto it. When she turned back to look at him, his brows had fallen to a single line of annoyance. She set her free paw on her hip again and she looked up at him with a sweet smile on her muzzle. "Unless, of course, you would care to join me at the Hopps family Christmas."

"Fine," he said, at last, raising his free paw to rub over his face for a moment. "I'll come with you. Can you take the cuffs off, now?"

"Promise you won't run off?" she said, the same sweet smile still plastered on her muzzle as she reached into her pocket. Beyond that smile she was a jumbled mess of emotions. Guilt at forcing him to come with her, sorrow at seeing the anger in his eyes, hope that she could get past it to show him that she wasn't doing this out of pity. She paused with her paw in her pocket when he rolled his eyes and gave her a halfhearted affirmative answer. Drawing her paw from her pocket, she tugged on their linked paws. Maybe it was just because of the tug of cold metal on his wrist, but he followed the careful pull of the chain until he had lowered to one knee in front of her. When she reached up with both paws to rest them on either side of his long muzzle, she saw a little flicker of… something… in the bright green when her fingers slipped through his untrimmed whiskers. Surprise, obviously, but something else. A little thrill, a little heat, a little bit of longing. She refused to dismiss it as her imagination, but didn't press for it to return once his expression relaxed when she spoke. "Please, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Carrots," he said at length, leaning a bit into her paws in a way that made her heart trip a little in her chest. "Not really. I just didn't want anyone to know. Especially not the infallible Investigator Hopps."

A little rush of warmth came at that, and most of it was affection. He really was a good fox, a sweet and warm-hearted young male who just needed to be shown that someone knew it. Maybe she hadn't tried hard enough, because she had obviously missed too much. It was time to show him that someone knew who and what he really was. And that he was wanted. Even loved. The other part of that warmth was embarrassment.

"It's funny you should call me that, Slick," she said with a sheepish grin as she held up her empty paw. "Because I lost the key."

* * *

"I said I was sorry," she mumbled again as they sat in the driveway of the cheerfully decorated Hopps House, the windshield wipers keeping the still-falling snow from blocking their field of view as surely as the snow itself was keeping the car from being swarmed by her family. She could see the ears of over a dozen different bunnies through the many green-and-red decorated windows, all no doubt curious about her guest for the gathering. She turned her gaze to the sulking fox, who had kept his brooding gaze turned out into the night for the duration of the three-hour drive. "Sulking is not going to help."

"I'm being brought into a den of bunnies," he stated, finally breaking the silence as he turned his gaze to her and raised their shackled wrists, "in pawcuffs. A fox paw-cuffed to a bunny, who also happens to be a ZPD officer. You tell me, Fluff. What do you think will be the first thing running through their cute bunny heads? It's going to be exactly what this is: the fox was arrested, but oh no! The key is gone! And now the family is stuck with an unwanted passenger for the evening."

"Don't call them cute," she sighed and leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed. He had stopped calling her cute months again and she was sure he was doing it now because he was annoyed. She couldn't blame him, though his anger wasn't expected. He was always such an easy-going fox, with a wise crack and a quick grin or a smart remark to keep her on her toes. Was it because she had found out that he was homeless?

"Sorry," she heard him mumble, causing her to open her eyes and turn her head to face him. The handsome fox was staring down at his paws, his eyes a little distant and sad. "I don't like being anyone's burden. Christmas just isn't a good time for me. I have been on my own for a while now and you get used to it. Save a little here, hide away some more there, get a big score eventually and I'll be right back where I need to be. I know we're friends, at least I like to think we are. But I know you don't really want me here with your family."

Save a little, hide a little more. Then give money to someone who's even more down on their luck than he is. She remembered seeing him slip the gazelle money, money that he might otherwise have used to get out from under that freezing bridge for a few nights, at least. She stared at the downtrodden young fox and felt a swell of that love that she had known was hiding inside of her. She had known because she had been hiding it, even from herself. Because he was a fox and she was a bunny. Because he was a street hustler and she was a cop. Because she had decided for a while that the comfort of the comfortable was preferable to those dangerous feelings. But that time had passed. The night had not gone at all how she had expected so far but that didn't mean she had to stop short of letting him know what he deserved to know.

Her face softened, letting the resolve steady her quickly beating heart as she shifted her body across the divide between the seats. When he registered that she was moving, she saw him reach for the door handle, assuming that she was ready to get out and step into the line of family fire. Because her eyes never left his face, she could see the surprise when she placed her much smaller paw over it and drew it away from the handle. The curious look he directed at her became wide-eyed shock when she drew her leg over his and straddled his hips, directing his touch to her hip. The only way to describe the look on his face right then was open-mouthed shock, his paw hesitating and hovering away from touching her as green eyes searched her face.

"Ah… I mean, are… Wha..?"

The silver-tongued fox at a complete loss for words was pure delight for her, but she kept her face calmly serious as she tipped her head to the side and let her ears drop. He offered no resistance when she raised the cuffed paw to rest her palm on the navy blue covering his chest, feeling the quick beat of his heart as clearly as she could hear it in the snug space of the car. She had never been this close to him. Some unspoken rule between predator and prey had always kept them a step apart. Now she could feel the warmth of him, so close and inviting that she just wanted to burrow into him and soak it in. The scent of violets mingling with the scent of male to fill her every breath with the scent of fox in a way she had never experienced before. His scent. She would have rolled around in him just to keep that scent for another day, but was soon distracted by the feeling of his fur between her fingers. She realized that she had caressed from the blue of his shirt up into the off-white cream of his neck ruff, her paw all but vanishing into it. Rougher than a bunny's fur. Still soft, but just course enough compared to her own that she realized it suited the salty young fox.

The rumble that left his throat surprised her on so many levels that she almost jumped. Her paw did pause as her eyes lifted to his face. His eyes were closed. That long, narrow, and dangerously appealing muzzle was partly open to expose the teeth of a predator and his expression was one of simple pleasure. Then as if he realized what he had just done, his eyes opened and his mouth snapped closed. The apology was written all over his face, and when he opened his mouth to express it in words, she struck.

It was a little easier than she had expected, kissing him for the first time. She was no rank amateur, where other bunnies were concerned. Dates had come and gone, but had been far between. Actual relationships had been even further between, but she knew her way around a kiss. But it was so different with him. Everything. His muzzle was narrow, but so large compared to her own that she was almost intimidated by the first simple brush of her lips over his. There was a jump in the next breath he took, almost a hiccup it came so suddenly, but she felt the paw that had been hovering over her hip finally rest on her jeans. She nudged her muzzle against his until their mouths were locked together in the clearest way she could possibly let him know that it was not a test or a passing impulse. The scent of him lingered to blend with the taste of him on her lips, making every nerve in her body fire in ways that she had never experienced. Half of her was screaming that he was a predator - a fox - while the other half of her savored that very fact for a mixture of sensations so intense that she felt high.

It surprised and delighted her when he was the one who parted his lips first. The warm caress of his mouth over hers was so incredibly gentle and she was so lost in it that she had no control over the little whimper that escaped her when his tongue darted out. It teased her lips apart, a task made easy by her own desire to deepen the kiss, until tongue met tongue in a duel that was half playful and half curious. The taste of him was like nothing she had imagined. It was wild and sharp on her tongue, reminding her faintly of a spice she couldn't quiet place and she loved it. As the kiss lingered, going no further but losing none of its intimacy and sweetness, the paw that was cuffed to his searched his out. She raised them as her smaller fingers ran gently over the pad of his palm until his paw closed over them. The contrast of it, how large and warm and rough his paws were compared to her silky and tiny ones, was fascinating and somehow enchanting to her. They stayed linked like that even when she reluctantly broke the kiss and nestled her cheek against his chest.

"You've never been a burden, Nick," she said in a slightly husky voice while she listened to the quick, strong beat of his heart and the whisper of his breath against her ears. "You've been my heart's little secret for a long time now."

"Judy," he began, making her own heart do a little flip when he used her name for the first time in longer than she could remember. He was going to say more, but she placed her paw on the tip of his muzzle lightly to silence him.

"We'll talk more later, Nick, I promise," she assured when he frowned a little. "But right now, the family is waiting. And watching."

"Watching?" The edge in his voice might have held just a touch of panic, causing a grin to grow as he looked out to see the unclear but obvious ear-shaped shadows in various windows. "But, they can't really see…"

"No, not really," she replied, still grinning as she leaned up to peck his nose before she checked her watch. The way his eyes warmed and softened only lasted for a moment when she finished in a teasing tone. "But I have been sitting in your lap for fifteen minutes, and I am preeetty sure they can see that much."

"Oh," came his numb reply, followed a moment later by, "Wait, fifteen minutes?"

"Time flies when you're having fun," she laughed, then opened the door to the cold of the falling snow.

* * *

The halls certainly were decked in the Hopps home. It was what anyone might have expected from a traditional holiday-loving family, with a few minor alterations that kept with the times. From the green and red of the holly wreath that adorned the front door, to the fake snow that was sprinkled on table tops that held miniature figurines of bunnies playing in the snow and huddled around a fire listening to some old buck with a ceramic book in his paws or waiting at the base of a chimney for some mysterious figure to climb down and deposit toys under a Christmas tree. Just like the sparkling Christmas tree almost as tall as a rhino was situated in the center of the circular main room to complete the effect, covered from tip to base in multi-color ornaments - ornaments that themselves ranged from homemade cutouts to the mirrored balls of red and green and gold - white lights and silvery tinsel. At the base of this massive tree, in the equally massive main room, was the reason the tree would have to be so large: presents. Presents for a family that consisted of hundreds of bunnies of all ages were stuffed under this tree in an array of colorfully wrapped boxes and the occasional odd shape, in sizes from large to tiny, to a stack of envelopes that contained the hundreds of cards to be pawed out the next day.

It was like nothing that Nick had ever seen and he was more than a little stunned when he had been led into the burrow by the paw. The two older bunnies that greeted him, both of whom he recognized from the pictures he had managed to squeeze out of Judy, did their best to welcome him without obvious signs of their unrest showing. Honestly, he was fine with the occasional nose twitch or alert ear set: this wasn't the most comfortable moment in his life for a variety of reasons. A few of Judy's siblings were sitting around the room in little groups, chatting away in very effective whispers as they cast not so effective secret glances as the fox. A swarm of tiny, curious bunnies hovered just beyond what they seemed to have decided was his visual range. Like piranhas waiting for him to be foolish enough to stick his paw in the water before they struck. Trying to take it all in at once - So. Many. Bunnies! - left him feeling dizzy.

Or that could have been the aftereffects of the kiss.

Even with everything around him, he continued to cast quick glances at Judy while she greeted her parents and a few dozen siblings with hugs and holiday wishes. It was… beyond words, what he felt. From that first moment, where he had been sure her closeness had been an accident or a product of her excitement to see her family, he had been reminded why he had been keeping his distance to begin with. Chief Investigator Judith Hopps, the well-known and hard-edged cop, interested in some homeless street hustler? Ha! The very idea of it, which had been persistently locked in the back of his mind for as long as he had known her, was just… impossible.

But it was her taste that lingered on his lips. It was her scent that still perfumed his every breath. And it was her words that had him desperate to know more.

" _You've been my heart's little secret for a long time now."_

 _What did it mean?_ he wondered as he was offered another paw to shake. Her family certainly seemed to be doing their best to accommodate him, even if a few of them certainly made it clear that they had no interest in meeting the fox. And some of them were all too eager to meet the fox that was currently paw-cuffed to their sister, though their intentions seemed far less friendly and far more protective.

"So what's with the cuffs?" one of her brothers asked without so much as a pause to make the question seem less accusing than it was.

"A little accident, Jason. That's all," Judy replied with a cheerful smile that was a poor way of hiding the warning glare she sent at the offending brother.

"So this _isn't_ the criminal that you've been telling mom about? Ow!"

The cry came when Bonnie Hopps, with a smile so sweet and charming that Nick might have given her his shirt if she'd asked for it, grabbed the buck by one high ear and gave it a sharp pull. Her voice was sing-song sweet when she said, "Jason, dear, I need some help in the kitchen. Come help your mother, would you?"

After casting another warm smile Nick's way and extracting another "Ow, mom! I'm coming!" from the clearly unhappy buck, she dragged him towards what Nick assumed was the kitchen. He could hear the scolding in progress, though over the hum of the other little conversations in the room he couldn't make out exactly what was being said. Watching it, playing over the words 'the criminal you've been telling mom about' he decided that if he was going to be a part of this celebration, he was going to…

The thought was cut off when he felt her smaller paw slip into his, drawing his gaze to her when she hesitantly leaned against his side. He was young, but he wasn't stupid: she was testing the waters as surely as he was. And from the downcast eyes and low-set ears, she was worried that they had just been stirred the wrong way. He spread his fingers, reaching down a bit more until her paw was covered by his before he gave it a gentle squeeze. When those vibrant purple eyes raised to meet his, he grinned softly. If he was going to be a part of this celebration, if he was going to find out exactly what that kiss meant to her, he was going to have to stop behaving like he didn't want to be here.

"Are you two gonna kiss?"

The question, which came in the high tone of youth, came from a little cream-colored bunny who couldn't have been more than six. Like most of the younger generation, who he now suspected were supposed to be in bed already, the tiny buck was wearing his pajamas; a little green one-piece with the ever-popular Rudolph the Flying Reindeer winking on the cover and a tiny cotton tail poking out of the back. As charmed by the curious brown-eyed bunny as he was confused by the question, Nick lowered himself to one knee. The tension in the room was palpable, but the tiny bunny showed not a bit of fear as he looked up at the now kneeling fox.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, casting a glance to Judy. She watched him with a warm expression, giving him a little nod to turn his attention back to the kit. "I'm not sure if it would be polite to kiss her in a room full of her family, anyway."

"But you hafta," came the matter of fact reply before one little paw raised to point over their heads. They both followed the direction of the paw with their eyes until they saw the little sprig of green leaves and white berries hanging high above them in the rafters.

"That's more of a bunny tradition, sweetie," he heard Judy say softly. Her expression was apologetic when he returned his eyes to her, and he couldn't help but notice that she looked almost as crestfallen as the little bunny did when she said the words.

"Well, hold on," he cut in, causing both sets of ears to perk towards him (along with a good dozen sets of ears around the room). He increased the volume of his voice just a little, to let the curious eavesdroppers hear his every word as he placed his free paw over his heart. "We are in your house, after all. Surrounded by your family. It would be rude of me not to follow such a sacred tradition."

Seeing that slow smile spread over her face made his heart thump against his chest in a way that he should have expected. It only quickened when she turned to stand in front of him and for the first time he really understood what it meant to have the world fade away. Like everything else - every bunny in the room, every light, and sparkle, every whispered word around them - faded from his world as it centered around her and the warm affection in her expression. The light jingle of the pawcuffs as they raised their paws together to cup each other's muzzles caused matching smirked to tug at their lips before those lips met.

Like that first kiss, every nerve in his body came alive just from the touch of her mouth on his. The sweetly alluring scent of bunny filled his nose as he breathed in deeply and exhaled in a warm flood of breath against her cheek. When her silky fingers slid into his whiskers, the rush of sensory input sent a shot of sensation down his spine and caused his tail to puff out. This went unnoticed as she tipped her muzzle a bit more and he felt her lips part. The gentle and quick meeting of tongues was kept brief but left him on one knee with his eyes still closed as she drew away. Drew away and left him knowing that he had to have more. He needed kisses, needed more of this new closeness that he had never expected to be more than a dream.

When he did manage to open his eyes, he was aware of the silence in the room. Then he was aware of multiple "Aww"s from a few of the more open-minded bunnies in the room, which made the insides of his ears redden. This made him grateful for two things: first, the fact that the insides of his ears were too dark for anyone to notice; and second, the fact that the beautiful bunny in front of him did not, allowing him to clearly see the pink rise as she released a breathless little laugh.

That was when all hell broke loose.

He never even saw it coming. There was a sudden thunder of dozens of feet running on the floor as a mass of bodies came charging at him. The rain of giggles and cheers did _nothing_ to alleviate the feeling of panic that shot through him and caused his fur to stand on end before he was tackled to the ground by a stampede of tiny bunnies.

"I wanna touch his fur!"

"Ohhh, look at his tail! It's so long and fluffy!"

"His ears are too short, though."

"Can we see your teeth, mister?"

"He smells like flowers!"

"His fur is so pretty!"

"Are you gonna marry Aunt Judy?"

"Of course he is. They kissed, didn't they?"

"So I'll have a fox for an uncle?"

"Save me," he begged when he managed to pull himself into a sitting position and located Judy's eyes through the storm of curious little bunny paws and questions. And of course, she just looked amused and… something else. "I'm being assimilated!"

"I think seeing you kiss their brave Aunt Judy just assured them that you're welcome here," came the soft voice of her mother, stepping up to stand beside her grinning daughter with a look of curious amusement on her face. There was enough warmth and welcome in her eyes to have him surrendering himself to the swarm of tiny fluffs with a soft laugh. That warmth spread through him, head to toe, and he gave all of it back and more when he turned his gaze to Judy and found her still watching him with humor sparkling in her eyes. Humor, and something else that he couldn't identify. But whatever it was, whatever the feeling it caused to rise in his chest when he saw it, he hoped it never left that beautiful shade of amethyst.

* * *

"Nice room," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible after the door closed quietly behind them. It really was. It seemed to be sized with guests larger than bunnies in mind, which actually made sense when he considered that the Hopps did business and likely had friends that were not exclusively bunnies. It was spacious, warm, well-furnished in the more classical style of wood and quilted blankets one might expect from a farm, and while it was the most comfortable room he had seen in a while, he wasn't interested in it in the slightest. He just focused on it while he tried to figure out what his next move was. Two kisses did not a relationship make, and he wasn't about to…

"Nick?"

"Hmm?" he replied, turning to the sound of her voice only to find the collar of his shirt gripped by a small, but surprisingly strong, paw. Pulled down, caught completely off guard, his next breath escaped him in a throaty growl when her mouth took his in a kiss that started hot and stayed there. Her lips were parted, her tongue searching until his touched against it lightly. She held it, as she held the front of his shirt, for a long moment that left a lingering scent: a scent like melted sugar mixed into passion warmed fur and just touch of that earthy scent she always carried. It wasn't entirely new to him, though before he had only caught faint hints of it from a distance and he hadn't even really realized that it was her scent. Desire. Now he knew it, now he recognized it for what it was, and his next breath shuddered out of him when she lightly sucked on his lower lip before breaking the kiss to look up at him.

"Oh," was all he could think to say, waiting for the crossed wires in his mind to start working again. When had he put his arm around her, again? For that matter, when had he picked her up?

"Yeah," she murmured in reply, both paws sliding over his chest slowly as she held his eyes. "You were very sweet to those kits. They had a good time."

"Oh," he said again and gave a little laugh. He almost considered putting her down, but her uncuffed arm wound around the back of his neck to scratch at the base of his ears. His eyes drifted closed as he enjoyed the sensation. "I mean, I didn't have much choice, did I? Their swarm tactics are impressive. I was just trying not to sit on any of them…"

"Nick?"

"…Yeah?"

"Take the compliment," she mumbled against the side of his muzzle, causing that short in his brain again when the tip of her nose brushed against his whiskers lightly, followed by a hot and breathy whisper. "And then take me to bed."

"What?" His voice came out in little more than a squeak, which wounded his male pride enough for him to clear his throat and try again despite the complete shock that was still skittering down the back of his spine. He wasn't some innocent pup, after all. "I… Judy, I didn't mean… I mean… You don't have to…"

His stammering came to a stop when he realized that she was watching him with a curious and slightly bemused expression. Then a little frown played over her muzzle, her paw pausing at his chest as she leaned back a bit. "You… don't want to…"

"No, no, no, no," he said quickly, a little surge of panic shooting through him as he voiced the denial as clearly as he could. Dropping to his knees and setting her on her feet so he was in front of her. "I do. I… you have no idea how much."

"I might," she said and eased in closer to him when he went silent. He felt her body press against his chest again when she stepped between his legs, her paws sliding down his belly in a way that had his sheath tightening and his stomach muscles trembling. She stopped short of his belt line, though, and gripped the cloth to tug the shirt tail free of his pants. Then she raised the paw still linked to his and wiggled it a bit to draw his attention to their joined paws. "I didn't expect this, but there was a reason I found you tonight. I was already looking."

"Already looking?" They both let the idea process for a moment as her fingers walked his shirt up, making him jump when she slipped them under it to slide her claws over the fur of his chest. Seeing the way she nibbled on her lower lip, drawing the flesh gently under her longer front teeth as her expression became one of aroused appreciation.

"I had this plan, you see. Help me with this, will you?" She let the fingers of one paw comb through the fur of his chest slowly while the one attached to his at the wrist started to unbutton the shirt from the top down. He was doing his best to control the shaking of his paws as he reached up to help her as requested. Each working separate buttons, they unbuttoned two at a time until the shirt fell open. She let out an appreciative little 'ohhh' that caused a flush to crawl up the back of his neck before she motioned for him to stand up. Once he had done so, which allowed both of her paws to run around the softer and slightly thicker fur of his belly, she continued. "I was going to hunt you down for the holidays, and confess to you. About how my feelings have been growing from the moment I met you. About how you went from an annoying - though admittedly hot - young fox to a friend that I knew I could count on. And how that friendship gave way to attraction until I found myself lying awake some nights thinking about you."

"Thinking of me?" he said, his voice sounding a little small even to himself as the brush of her claws through his belly fur made his arousal spike. Seeing her gaze drop and a sultry grin crawl up her beautiful muzzle when she noticed his condition made him feel hot all over; a reaction that defeated any attempt at making it less obvious when the already aching length trapped by his pants pulsed and strained visibly against the cloth.

"And it looks like my imagination may have underestimated you, Mr. Wilde," she all but purred as she stepped closer to him, nudging him back a few stepped until he bumped into the bed. Those tiny fingers were as agile as they looked when she slowly unbuckled his belt while keeping her eyes locked on his. "You can say no. I'll stop."

She did, he noticed. She hesitated. It wasn't a tease on her part, not with that question behind her eyes and that little tremble in the paw that hovered over the button that kept them from going further. This gorgeous, sexy bunny wasn't going to take what he didn't offer. It calmed the young fox in one way and excited him in a plethora of others. Judith Hopps, who he had admired and lusted after and loved in equal sums for months now, wanted _him._

Nicholas Wilde was not an idiot.

He unbuttoned his own pants and, as a delighted and decidedly sultry smile spread over her muzzle, shoved them and his boxers down so he could kick them away. He was gratified to see the widening of her eyes, the slack-jawed little pause that she gave when she was faced with the achingly hard length of his arousal. He almost had time to feel smug about it when she whispered a near-reverent "Wow" before turning his legs to water when she leaned close to place a single kiss on the shaft.

"Oh damn, Carrots," he groaned, his weakened legs not helping him hold his ground when she reached up to give him a little shove back onto the bed. He plopped down without protest, managing to keep himself upright with his one free paw while the cuffs kept his other close to hers.

The heat in her eyes when she lowered herself to her knees on the floor in front of him had him licking his now dry lips. It was like every fantasy he had ever had about her was dull and muted compared to the real her, a fact that was slammed into him when the next kiss was placed right on the tapered tip. That kiss was followed by another, and another, as she took the shaft in both silky paws and worked her way down in a rain of kisses that became open-mouthed when she reached the halfway point. The wet caress of her tongue paused near the base, hesitated for a moment so that all he could feel was the warm huffs of her breath as she took in his scent. He knew why she had paused, could feel the pleasure rising way too fast already as the base thickened against the curious exploration of her tongue. A tongue that licked slowly up one side of his knot, traced around the tight skin where it met his shaft, and then became a hot mouth when she sucked what she could into her muzzle for a curious suckle.

"Judy, stop! I c… I can't… Argh!" That quick rise of pleasure was devastatingly effective at making him feel like a virgin all over again when his knot hardened and thickened against her muzzle. Through the blur of pleasure, he saw wide violet eyes raise to him in surprise as the full length of him pulsed violently and bucked in her squeezing paws. And he found out then that she was quick when she wanted to be. She was up at the tip again just in time to have the first spurt of his seed coat the surface of her tongue before taking the head into her muzzle. He was almost certain that he would feel her teeth and there was a moment where he almost wondered how he didn't. Just as quickly, he realized that he didn't give a damn as the next release drew a moan from her and sent hot shivers of uncontrolled pleasure racing through him. Heaven wasn't hot enough for what he felt when she started to suck in the same moment that her paws slid down to wrap around his knot the best she could, squeezing in a rhythm that made his toes curl. Her head bobbed slowly and her lips sealed tight, not letting another drop escape as the audible sound of swallowing became the new most arousing sound burned into his memory. That was, if he had any brain cells left after this.

He was wrecked by the time the orgasm started to fade, and it was only the fact that falling back into the bed would have dragged her warm mouth away that kept him upright on one shaking arm. Head tilted back with closed eyes, panting through his open muzzle as the heat settled into a pleasantly lazy warmth, he was almost able to find the words to say something when the warmth of her muzzle left him. Another shiver came when hyper sensitive flesh was treated to the slow roll of her tongue around the tip, drawing his head up and his gaze down to watch her with stunned pleasure as she licked him clean. The fact that she grinned up at him while doing so gave him the sudden urge to pick her up, toss her onto the bed, and return the favor. Not the he needed much motivation to want that.

"Lay back," she said as she released his knot and slowly pulled herself to her feet.

He blinked slowly, once, as the order scattered the idea running through his mind and his protests were cut off when she reached up to wipe a pearly strand of his cum from the top of her muzzle. It was the fact that she looked down at her paw for a second and then licked her fingers slowly that almost had him choking on his own tongue.

"You have to be the hottest bunny in the world," he mumbled as he moved to do what she asked, drawing a delighted titter of laughter from her as she climbed onto the bed and directed him to lay his head on the pillows. In that moment, he was pretty sure he would be willing to run through the burrow naked if she said she'd do that again. Though curious, he didn't resist in the slightest when she took his paw and raised it towards the headboard. He jumped a little when he heard the click of the pawcuffs, raising his eyes just in time to watch her now freed paw slip the chain through a wooden rail and snap it closed on his own paw. "Wait, you've had a key this whole time?"

"No," she said lightly, seeming undisturbed. Likely because he didn't seem all that mad. Because he _wasn't_ all that mad. He wasn't mad at all, just confused as she left him where he was while she stood on the bed with her feet on either side of his hips. She looked down at him, holding up the little key as she smirked playfully. "A few years back, the kits managed to get their paws on my pawcuffs and shackled themselves together. Because they did this after I was already back in Zootopia, and I had to drive all the way back to separate them, I left mom with a spare key."

"So, you could have let me go as soon as we got here?" he questioned, giving the cuffs a little tug that made the bed rock a bit before he relaxed again. "Officer Hopps, you lied."

"I didn't want to let you go," she said simply, then pocketed the key before she slipped her sweater up and off. "Now hush. I'm trying to seduce you."

A witty comeback might have been in order but was lost to him as all that silky white and gray came into view. The still-smooth plane of her belly and chest, accented by the wider curves of her hips, made his mouth water. She might have been older than him, but he knew a beautiful body when he saw one. Police work treated her well, obviously. His gaze paused when he saw the semi-transparent black ringing her belly just above the waist of her jeans, a sight that increased his curious anticipation. Seeming to notice this, she took her sweet time about unbuttoning the jeans and sliding down the zipper to reveal more black. Then she did what must have been his greatest secret wish: she turned away from him, still standing over him, as she started to slide them down. Watching those full hips wiggle out of the jeans made his blood heat right down to his toes, especially when that high set tail popped out and allowed them to slip down her hips.

He was left slack-jawed and aroused on a whole new level when he realized what the black was. The garter belt was simple, solid black and not flashy at all, as were the low-cut panties that hugged what was a terrific ass. But as the jeans dropped further, showing the clips and stockings that were attached to the belt - stockings that only highlighted the feminine shape of that mature bunny body - he was at a loss for words.

"I want you."

Okay, not at a complete loss for words. Or intentioned. He really wished he was free of the cuffs now because his paws ached to touch those hips, cup the silky covered rump and slip between her thighs so he could just _feel_ everything he was seeing. The bed rocked again as he tugged, green eyes following the twitch of that pretty, little tail as she wiggled again and finally kicked the jeans off the bed. What he was left with was the most drop dead gorgeous bunny - female of _any_ breed - he had ever seen, a bunny who was looking over her shoulder at him with her ears dropped low and her lips pulled into a sultry little smile that had him pulling on the cuffs again.

"You want me?" she asked as she turned slowly, stepping over him until his field of view was nothing but thighs, hips, ass, and the tight fit of her panties over her sex. His mouth watered.

"Oh god, yes. I want you. You look good enough to eat."

"Well," she said, a laugh of delight escaping her as she lowered herself down onto her knees so that her rear rested near the top of his chest just below his muzzle. She crooked a finger under his muzzle and tipped it up as she leaned over him. She managed to bend low enough to place a light kiss on the top of his nose. He could still smell himself on her muzzle and it didn't bother him a bit when she whispered, "That's good. Because that's exactly what you're going to have to do to get those paws on me, Wilde."

Having said that, she stood on her knees again and scooted forward just enough so that the crotch of her panties was right above his muzzle. A world already filled with the sweet smell of aroused bunny was flooded all over again when the silky fabric nudged against the tip of his nose. She was so wet that he could taste her through the panties when his tongue slipped out for one long, wide lick across the surface. When she trembled, muffled a moan, and gripped the head board with one paw, he was ready to give her another because the muted taste hadn't been enough. He paused with his muzzle partly open, however, when her free paw dipped between them and tugged that final barrier to the side.

He had never seen a bunny's sex before and was surprised to find that his imagination had been pretty damn close. Tight, coral-pink folds were flushed and parted, and so wet that he could see the fur surrounding her crotch glistening with her arousal. He was forced to swallow to prevent himself from drooling when he opened his mouth again, taking that first bare taste of her in a long, slow lick with his wide tongue. He savored that salty sweet tang just as much as he did the stuttering warble that escaped her as her thighs tightened on either side of his head. He felt her tremble above him as he leaned up, taking a slow breath that burned her scent into his memory before he gave a much lighter, teasing lick. This time just the tip of his tongue brushed the fur around her sex without taking what he knew they both wanted.

It surprised him when he felt two small paws grip his ears, and delighted him just as much when her strained and slightly breathless voice followed. "I didn't get to tease you, fox. Now you don't get to tease me."

He would have grinned at the words and the urgency behind them if she hadn't used his ears like handles, more to keep him in place as she pressed her folds down into his muzzle. A muffled sound of surprise escaped him, but the surprise only lasted for a moment when the fresh, hot scent of horny rabbit reminded him that he really shouldn't give a damn. Turnabout was fair play, after all, so he gave them both what they wanted. A taste for him and the slick caress of his tongue for her. The first quick lick over those silky-soft folds had his taste buds longing for more and was followed by another without pause.

And because she wanted it, he didn't tease. The next lick slid deep as his long, broad tongue tunneled past the outer lips and into the most amazing wet heat he had ever experienced. He could only imagine and hope he would know what that felt like wrapped around his knot in the very near future, but for now he savored the taste of her. His ears would have perked to the sounds she made, those little whimpering cries of pleasure that escaped her with every stroke of his tongue, but her grip remained urgent. Soon it didn't really matter. Soft gasps became long, needy moans; whimpers became utterances of his name; a still body became a trembling live wire that was just as on-edge as he had been. And even as she started to hump his muzzle and tongue with every quickening stroke of the slick muscle inside of her, he _still_ wanted to have his paws on her hips so he could drag her down onto him and feast at his leisure.

"Nick," came her voice again, though this time he was compelled to look up to find her eyes on him. Watching him as she all but fucked his tongue, violet eyes glassy as she panted through an open muzzle. "Almost… Almost… Deeper, please, deeper!"

The cries and the need sparked an idea, an idea that was put into action before he really cared to fully form it. He opened his muzzle as far as he could, seeing the widening of her eyes when his parted jaws allowed her to sink down a few more inches. He wasn't sure what caused her to cry out and throw her head back then: it might have been the press of his teeth into the firm flesh of that beautiful ass. Or it might have been the fact that he gave her exactly what she wanted, giving the needy Judith Hopps every inch of the tongue she had begged for. He licked so deep that she became almost unbearably tight around him, squeezing around him as her back arched deep and she released a deeply primal sound of release as orgasm tore through her.

He watched every second of it. The flutter of her belly and the outward ripple of muscle as her entire body tensed. He felt the squeeze of her thighs around his head tighten further, and still managed to keep pace with the deep laps of his tongue as she rocked and bucked like a wild thing. Fresh, sweet juices greeted his tongue now, fresh scent assaulted his nose, fresh cries spilled from her muzzle, and fresh arousal had him throbbing and aching and wanting.

"No more, no more!" she cried suddenly, and with the wet sound of his long tongue leaving her too tight body, she suddenly rolled away from him and collapsed onto the bed beside him with her ears facing his feet. He was left there with a slight ringing in his ears, due to the grip she had kept throughout, and the delicious taste of bunny on his tongue. A tongue that he ran over his muzzle slowly as he lifted his head to look down at the panting, trembling, and still squirming rabbit.

"Carrots?"

No reply came from her for a long moment, then an unintelligible sound rose.

"Caaaarrots," he said in a sing-song voice now, shifting his body to nudge her with his hips. "The key, Fluff."

"Hmmm-wha..?"

This brought a self-satisfied smirk to his damp muzzle, and another nudge from him. "The key. There was talk of taking the cuffs off after you got your little foxy ride, hmm?"

"Mm, yeah. What a ride. Mmm-k."

It took a few more seconds, during which he almost nudged her again before she finally moved. Her movements were lazy and languid, and her limbs seemed heavy as she pushed herself upright. The pleasure-dazed look on her face certainly was a boost to the ego, one that he felt he needed after popping off like a teenager only minutes before. He followed her with his eyes as she rolled, crawled, and struggled around and up his body. She even managed a little laughing moan when he nipped at her shoulder in passing.

He wasn't sure where the key came from, likely tucked away in the garter belt, but he was glad to see it before she leaned over him and unlocked the cuffs. Feeling the first shackle relax, he eased his paw free as she opened the other. He watched her move to settle on top of him as he rubbed his slightly aching wrists, her head resting on his chest with those long ears crossing his shoulders. She looked perfectly content and ready for a nap.

Too bad for her.

"We're not finished, Hopps," he said, and because he had wanted to do it for longer than he cared to remember, he slid his paws down the length of her body slowly. As one large paw followed the curve of her spine, she seemed to rise a bit when he slipped his paw under the garter belt and over the panties to tickle the base of her tail lightly. Then he drew a throaty little moan from her when he freed that paw and used both to cup her hips and rear, drawing her up a bit so that his muzzle rested against her ear. "What happened to that legendary bunny stamina?"

"I left it on your tongue, I think," she groused, opening one eye to peak up at him as his paws squeezed again. This time the moan had more volume as he tightened his grip, watching to see her reaction when the tips of his claws pressed into her through silk and fur. Father than seeming afraid or distressed, she arched her hips upward in a way that told him exactly what he wanted from her.

"I think I want to see you on your paws and knees, Fluff. Then I want to hold onto these gorgeous hips of yours while I take you from behind."

There. She had been bold to this point, and he was more than willing to pay in kind. The sharp twitch and raise of her ears told him that he had her attention, and the little grin he saw growing on her muzzle told him that he had her interest.

"That does sound very appealing," she admitted, turned her face to nuzzle into his chest for a moment before she ran her paw down his chest. "But are you sure you're… Oh, wow. It looks like you are more than recovered."

The genuine surprise in her voice when she saw that not only was the canine flesh hard but was achingly so, added the final little up to his ego, getting him right back to where he needed to be. "It could have something to do with muzzle rides and the lingering taste of bunny."

A shrieking laugh escaped her when he moved suddenly, the paws on her hips used to lift and flip her until she was face down on the bed. That laugh turned into an eager moan when he kept her hips lifted with one paw, while the other slipped between her thighs and cupped the damp crotch of her panties. And that moan turned into a needy whimper as the paw rubbed in slow circles over the silk that now covered her still hot slit.

"Actually," he said, his voice deepening as he leaned over her and nibbled on her shoulders to keep her chest pinned to the bed. She let out another gasp when he pressed the pad of one finger between the outlined lips of her sex as he detected the warmth and scent of fresh, quickly returning lust. "This might work, too. I'll take care of everything. You just lay there and enjoy."

"How, ah! How noble of you," she panted, her tone lost between amused and growing need. Her tail twitched and hiked up high over her hips when he slid that finger under the silk to reach the bare heat of her folds. "Your paws are amazing."

"I'm glad you like them," he said, enjoying the quick squeeze around his finger when he slipped it inside of her. She was soaked, hot, and already rocking her hips back into that one finger. But the size difference between them was considerable and he wanted her more than ready; he wanted her in the same place she had been when she had begged him to end her need. In the meantime, he savored how responsive her body was. There was no question that she wanted him as much as he wanted her, not with the sweet scent of her need filling every breath and the rising hunger in her moans. He drank in the sight of her, a sight that he had never really believed he would see outside of his dreams and fantasies until her paws gripped the sheets so hard that he heard the tearing as her tiny claws ripped them.

"Nick," came the exact tone of desperation he had been searching for. "Please, I… Ah! Yes!"

Her plea had ended when he rose behind her and with an adjustment to widen his stance for height, used his paw to guide the tip of his aching length inside of her. Then, what he had intended to be a slow, steady, and considerate first entry into his new lover became a sudden sheathing in the hot body of a bunny that took his breath away. It was so sudden that for a moment, a moment in which both of his paws were filled with her hips, he wasn't entirely sure if he had bucked forward on his own just to get more of the blissful heat squeezing down around him.

After a moment to gain his bearings, he realized that the bunny under him was mid-orgasm. Those full hips rolled and wiggled against his paws, desperately trying to find more sensation. The sensation that his grip on her was denying. Sensation that he gave himself when he braced her hips to still them as he drew back and drove in again with enough force to cause the bed to rock forward. Neither of them cared when the headboard slammed into the wall on the return thrust, searching for the new levels of pleasure that this new and long overdue intimacy could bring them. Dazed, green eyes looked down and were treated to the sight of his now-glazed length sliding out of her, only to have her body eagerly swallow him again to the base. A base that was soon to swell.

He gasped as he released her hips and dropped over her, his weight causing her knees to buckle as he pinned her to the bed with his body. The change didn't mean pause, didn't bring the restraint he had been searching for when her paws grabbed his and pulled them tight around her.

"Judy, I don't know if I can," he panted, the last shreds of his willpower buckling when the growl in his voice caused her sex to squeeze on him like a silky wet fist. "Can I..?"

"Yes!" she cried, cutting him off, her cheek pressed into the bed with a look of undisguised bliss on her face. "I want it, Nick. I've… Oh! Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!"

The sudden and rather adorable 'curse' that she sometimes used took on a whole new meaning when her body locked and shook under him as he started to swell. The sudden flood of heat and tightness was not all her own, however. Pleasure rocked him as he bore into her, all restraint becoming pointless as his knot thickened and filled her so suddenly it was nearly painful even for him. Somewhere in it all, he saw a wince of pain cross her muzzle and was sorry for it even as he emptied himself into her. Claws tore the sheets. He arched his back so his muzzle could close on her shoulder, teeth grazing the flesh and holding her firmly in place. Pulse after pleasurable pulse spilled into her until he was sure that he had nothing left to give, the silky ripple of her muscles around him assuring that he would stay tied to his mate for some time.

When the pleasure started to fade, they were two completely wrecked examples of mammal-kind. Harsh breathing was the only sound in the room, the occasional tremble, flex, or throb the only movement. To say that they had sex-rumpled fur would have been an understatement. The scents of sex from the fox and bunny filled the air, mingling as they tried to recover something that resembled sanity.

"I can't move," he groaned, thinking it must have been some miracle that he was still alive at all.

"Good," she mumbled, her voice muffled. He realized it was because she had muffled the loudest of her screams into the mattress and simply hadn't found the strength to turn her head yet. "Don't."

"Okay," he agreed, causing them both to groan when he throbbed thickly inside of her again. "We should either never do that again and live a long time. Or we should do that as often as possible, and die happy in a week."

This brought a bubble of laughter from her that was less muffled. She had found the strength to turn her head enough to rest her cheek against the mattress now. "I vote for option two. Though we may live longer than you think."

"Oh good," he sighed, realizing that he couldn't move his arms because she still had his paws in a death grip with her own. "I might need fifteen minutes or so."

The comfortable silence, broken only by their breathing and the occasional creak of the burrow, was a long and easy one. In it, they both dozed together and stayed close to each other. Even after his knot eased enough for them to separate, it only meant that they turned to lay facing each other on the bed holding paws and watching each other. The cooling air between them only drew them closer, after a time. Or maybe it was just the desire to be closer that had the beautiful bunny scooting in to close the distance, pressing the side of her muzzle against his for a moment before burrowing into his neck.

"You're not going back under that bridge," she said, breaking the silence as he felt her swirl one finger around in the fur of his chest.

"Carrots, you don't have to worry about…"

"I love you, Nick," she cut him off, the words causing his heart to lurch so suddenly it was painful.

"You don't mean that," he said, his tone low as guilt and doubt both waged war against the swift rise of hope. She couldn't mean it, in his mind. How could she? What she had given him here was amazing, and had likely closed the door on any chance he had of loving anyone but her, but she hadn't known that.

"I'm going to say this once, Nick," she said, her tone going from warm to cool so quickly that his ears folded back when she drew back far enough to consider his eyes. The violet that he adored so very much was a thousand times warmer than the voice, and it made his throat tighten a bit when she continued. "Don't tell me how I feel. That isn't how confessions work. Do you think I wear this every day? I wore this for you. Do you think if I didn't want you here with my family, I wouldn't have found another way to get those cuffs off? I want you here with me. I don't follow foxes home, Nick. I don't dream about anyone else and wake up sad the next morning when I realize that it wasn't real. I don't think to risk making an idiot out of myself confessing my feelings to someone who probably doesn't love me back, but I _need_ to because I can't keep pretending that you're just a friend. You don't even have to… Mmm…"

The tears that had started to form in her eyes compelled him to stop her, even if everything she said had caused a rise of hope in his heart. The widening of her eyes when he cupped her muzzle and drew it to his was almost as satisfying as the sound of easy contentment that escaped her when his mouth met hers. His thumbs brushed under her eyes when the salt of tears tickled his nose, dashing them away without breaking the languid kiss. And he held the kiss, deepened it, tasted her slowly and for the first time all over again knowing now that she loved him. When he broke the kiss and looked down at her, a slow smile spread over his muzzle at the sight of her; eyes still closed, lips parted just enough for him to see the pink of her tongue, muzzle tilting up as she waited and wanted more. He waited a beat for her eyes to slowly open, looking up at him with the same twinkle of hope that had just now bloomed into happiness inside of him.

"I love you, too," he whispered, touching his nose to hers. His heart quickened when her eyes brightened, swift and pure happiness filling them as a smile bloomed. It was a smile he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. "Thank you for bringing me home for Christmas, Judy."

"Thank you for making this Christmas perfect, Nick."

* * *

It was the sound of laughter and terrible singing that woke her the next morning. Bleary eyes opened slowly, unwillingly, as memories of the perfect night before filled her mind just as the scent of fox filled her nose. A quick, giddy, amazing feeling of contentment washed over her as she reached to the spot beside her…

And found it empty.

Blinking fully awake, she sat up and looked at the empty spot in the bed beside her. The happiness was replaced with a gut turning feeling of dread. Had he left? Why hadn't he...?

"Don't pull on his tail, Carter," she heard her mother's voice filter through the door, cutting through her thoughts when that very door was nudged fully open by the older bunny. Thankfully, Judy realized that one of them had taken a moment to put her back into her sweater so she didn't need to hide under the covers like a kit when those warm eyes rested on her. Bonnie walked over to her, holding out a steaming cup of what smelled like carrot-creamed coffee. "You're finally awake. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever join us."

"Hey, mom," she said, trying to keep the hot blush from riding up the length of her ears as she listened to the commotion outside the door. The squeals of laughter and exclamations of delight, the murmurs of adult conversations going on, and finally the masculine voice that she had been hoping to hear. She couldn't make out the words over the rest of the conversation, but just knowing that he was still there had her rubbing at her chest with one paw again. The other paw reached up to take the offered mug from her mother. "Thanks. Is Nick doing okay?"

"Oh, he's fine, dear. Just passing out the presents for the kits," she added, almost making Judy choke on her first sip. Passing out the presents at the Hopps family Christmas was a monumental task. Knowing this and her daughter's reaction better than most, Bonnie smiled slowly. "Your father is calling it his penance. Only in private, though."

"Penance?" Judy blinked, looking up with a confused frown.

"Judy, dear," her mother said, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting her daughter's leg through the blanket. "It would take a blind bunny not to see what is going on between you and Mr. Wilde, but you're a grown woman who can make her own choices. Even your father knows that. That being said: just because this room is soundproofed for our guests doesn't mean that it stops the sound of a headboard banging against the wall in the middle of the night."

She stared at her mom with wide eyes and a furious blush heating every inch of her, from tail to toes to the tips of her ears. The easy way her mother even said that was enough to have her at a loss for words, much less…

"Now, you have your coffee before you come out," Bonnie said, her smile knowing as she stood again and smoothed the Christmas green shirt she wore. "Mr. Wilde will be just fine with us until you do."

"Thanks, mom," she managed under a twinkling final smile from the older bunny before she was left alone again.

She didn't manage to finish the coffee. The first few sips, along with the fact that Nick was alone in a house full of bunnies, was more than enough to have her out of bed, showered, and ready to go out to meet the family in record time. And the sight she was greeted with made her heart melt right down into her feet.

Among the (amazingly) organized throng of her family, young and old, stood the orange-furred fox with a smile on his muzzle and an only slightly fatigued look about him as he wandered from one kit to the next with gifts in paw. Her paw rose to cover her muzzle to contain the little giggle. The white and red of a Santa Paws outfit, one that was clearly meant to fit a large bunny, stretched out as far as it could go over his long, lean body. The fact that the Santa hat, with its cotton poof ball at the tip, was shoved down over one ear so it would stay on the predator's larger head was nothing short of perfect. The poorly fitted outfit showed a bit of his clothes under it, but not a single kit seemed to care as they beamed at him every time he dropped a present in their laps.

When he turned from one kit, he noticed her standing there and his eyes brightened like the lights on the tree behind him. He held his arms out to either side in a wide-open stance that had his tail wagging behind him and a huge smile on his muzzle. "Carrots! Merry Christmas!"

Judy couldn't remember ever seeing anyone so perfectly gorgeous in her life.

"I'm almost done here," he said before he dropped down on all fours and scrambled under the huge tree. When he appeared again, he had two brightly wrapped packages in his paws, looking at the name tag on each before he turned that heart-stopping grin on her again. "Your mountain of presents is over there."

When she managed to tear her eyes off him - and damn it, it was really hard not to want to drink him in as he interacted with her family - she saw the neatly ordered pile of presents near her parents, who were sitting together by the low-burning fireplace and their own pile. Christmas at Bunnyburrow meant many presents, especially for the kits, and she shook her head as she wandered over. She stopped at her parents first, leaning down to give them both a strong hug around the neck and a peck to either cheek before she drew back. Stu, who wasn't well known for being able to keep his emotions in check, didn't manage to do so now either.

"I know you're a big girl now," he said, making her resist the urge to roll her eyes when he straightened and did his best to look authoritative, "but if that fox hurts you, I'm going to taze him all the way back to Zootopia."

"He will, too," her mom added as she looked at her husband with amused affection. "I barely managed to stop him last night."

"Well, I just don't see why she has to…"

"Dad," she warned gently, though her muzzle didn't lose the cheerful smile. He deflated instantly, then surrendered as he waved her in for another hug. She knew that he had learned years ago that arguing with his most unique and strong-willed daughter when she had made up her mind was pointless. She kissed his cheek again and whispered, "He's not just a fox. His name is Nick. And look how amazing he is, daddy."

All three pairs of eyes turned to see the fox with only one present left in his paws, a present that he was pretending to struggle with.

"I'm not sure, it's a little smudged," he said, holding it at all angles as he stared at the name tag. He moved it closer to his muzzle and squinted, held it further away and blinked a few times before he shrugged. "Is there anyone here named Chesterfield? Cheshire? Cheese spread? Stop me if I guess it."

"Christopher! Does it say Christopher?" an excited young voice called from the crowd of bunnies.

"Huh, let's see here," he said, turning the present upside down this time as he peered at the name on the card. "I guess it does. Where are you, Christopher?"

"Here I am!" came the voice again, followed by the patter of little bare paws running across the ground until the young brown and tan bunny, who barely came up to the fox's knees, stopped in front of Nick with a big grin. And, she noted, not even a sprinkle of fear. "It's for me, Mr. Wilde. Sir."

"So, this is the fabled Christopher," the fox said, dropping down on one knee and holding out the green wrapped box with its yellow and red ribbons. "This is for you, my main bunny."

"Thank you! Sir," the kit said, taking the present in paw and turning to head back to his spot.

Nick missed it as he turned to look at her, but she saw it. Every bunny in the room likely saw it, as they were all watching the fox with avid and curious eyes. The young buck, in his wise seventh year, stopped on his way back and looked around at Nick again. Then his gaze wandered to Judy, his grandparents, and the only unclaimed stack of presents in the room. They all watched as he turned and made his way back to Nick, who paused and turned when he realized that Christopher hadn't run off yet.

"Where are your presents, Mr. Wilde? Sir."

"Well, I don't have any," Nick said, easily dropped down to bring himself more on level with the tiny male. "I don't think anyone was expecting me to be here today."

"Oh," came the soft reply, and then just a moment later. "You can have this one."

No one was more surprised than the fox in the Santa outfit, who's ears had perked fully towards the bunny as he stared down at the box being held out towards him. He looked ready to refuse, she saw, but maybe it was the earnest and hopeful look on the face of her nephew that had one large red paw reaching out to accept it.

"I… don't know what to say, kid," he said, holding the present as if he was afraid he would break it while giving the kit a warm smile. "Thank you."

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Wilde. Sir," the youth said, making Judy's eyes mist over a bit because of how moved Nick seemed when he looked down at the present again.

"You can have this one, too," came a smaller, more feminine voice. Judy had missed the approach of her snowy white niece, who was standing on the other side of the stunned fox with a gold wrapped gift held out to him. Now he looked around to her for help, clearly not sure if he should be accepting gifts meant for the Hopps family kits. She shook her head towards the little bunny with her little box and waved her paw for him to go ahead.

She saw the warm surprise brighten his face further when he turned back to the little doe and saw a gathering of young bunnies waiting for their turn to offer him one of their presents. He accepted them, each and everyone one, with a genuine gratitude that made her throat tight. Over the next few minutes, a new pile of gifts was created in the Hopps Home beside the fox. The same fox that she knew was warm and generous and loving and kind under the jaded mask he wore most of the time. That her own family would show him exactly the welcome she wanted him to feel with no prompting from her made remember why she loved every single one of them.

"I guess he's not so bad," she heard Stu mumble and looked back to see him quickly swatting away a tear as her mom smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Thanks, dad," she said, leaning close to press a kiss to his pudgy cheek before she stood and made her way over to where Nick now sat.

He looked delighted and more than a little shell-shocked when the last present was passed to him by a pair of tiny paws, murmuring a soft 'Thank you' as he looked at it for a long moment before realizing that she was standing beside him. Taking his muzzle between her paws, she placed a light kiss on that smile before she leaned in to give him a hug. Squeezing him close, she leaned up as high as she could to press her muzzle next to his twitching ear.

"You realize that most of those are toys for little bunny bucks and does, right?" she asked and grinned when he chuckled in reply.

"And I intend to play with every one of them," he said in a soft, warm hum against her ear. "You're free to join me. Actually, I insist."

She blinked in surprise when she heard and felt the click of pawcuffs snapping over her wrist, and looked down with her mouth hanging open when she saw that she was shackled to him again. Then she let out a delighted laugh when he stood and jangled their paws together.

"And this time, I have the key," he grinning, holding his paw up so all could see as she leaned in close to him.

Titters of laughter filled the air, and soon there was the cheerful sound of presents being opened with cries of surprise and delight. But none more delighted than those of the fox who had been welcomed into her home to spend that special day with her family. As songs were sung and stories exchanged, she saw him drawn in and accepted by most and adored by others. And she knew that, if she hadn't been in love with him before that day, she was by the time he waved a cheerful goodbye with the promise to visit again as they climbed into the now present loaded car.

She watched him as he sat in the passenger seat, playing with a little plastic figure of a popular bunny action hero while making little 'pew pew' sounds to himself. When he realized that she was watching him, all he did was turn his grin on her in a way that made her bones feel like jelly.

"What? I said I was going to play with all of them."

"I love you, handsome fox," she said, reaching up to caress his cheek with the paw that was still cuffed to his own as his expression softened and his green eyes shone.

"I love you, too, beautiful bunny," he replied, covering her paw with his as he turned his face to place a kiss into the center of her palm. "Thank you for making this a Merry Christmas."

And while later the cuffs came off, the two of them never strayed far from each other. And though it was the first joyful holiday that they spent together, it was only the first of many, many to come.


	2. Christmas is the Best

It was cold. The temperature outside was hovering just below freezing, allowing the world beyond the windows to remain blanketed in the pristine white that only existed on days when no one had anywhere to go. Unmarked by the passage of tires or feet, at least this early in the morning, the fresh coating of snow continued to rise slowly as fat flakes fluttered by at a lazy but consistent pace. The windows and walls were no real barrier against the cold, of course. It had seeped into the bedroom until it seemed to radiate from the walls, causing even the surface of the blanket to be frigid to the touch.

This cold, however, didn't really reach the gray bunny. Or, at the very least, it was overpowered by the warm cocoon she had wrapped herself in. A cocoon where the inside of that very same blanket was heated by the large furred body spooned behind her. Large paws that were wrapped possessively around her midriff, that long handsome muzzle nestled between her ears, and the rise and fall of his breathing the only sound that stirred in the room. The scent of him, musky and male, was all around her and filled every breath with warm reminders of what was hers. What had been hers starting on this very day a year before. And though the fireplace that had managed to keep the room at a toasty temperature through the cold days behind them was now dormant, she had never been so happy to be wrapped up against the cold as she was now.

She even considered letting herself drift back to sleep, though that thought was interrupted by the slight change in his breathing followed by the minute increase in pressure from the arms around her. It took a full thirty seconds before his muzzle moved, tilted just a bit so that the cool tip of his nose could root around the base of one ear lazily. The whisper of breath, the soft inhale that caused his chest to rise before he released it with a sleepy sigh of contentment before he gently licked her inner ear. Her muzzle curved in a soft smile as she remained still, her own nose twitching as his fingers started to slide over the white fur of her belly, then through it as his claws dug deeper to trace over her skin easily. The heavenly sensation caused her to release a soft sigh of her own, though neither of them seemed interested in moving beyond that for a long moment. After all, why risk letting the cold into their little world?

"Morning, Carrots," he murmured, his tone as lazy as the strokes of his fingers through her fur.

"Good morning, Nick," she replied, risking tilting her head back towards him, which his muzzle angled to meet until their lips touched. Not a hard task considering his size advantage which, even lying in bed like this, had him looking down at her. Which she was grateful for when she parted her lips as the kiss deepened, her eyes slipping closed as his tongue lightly danced over hers. He always started gentle, even in kisses. She wondered if he still felt the need to assure himself that she was his, that he needed to find permission from her before doing the things he should have known she wanted.

It never took him long to catch on, either way, which had her smiling against his lips when she felt the new heat nestle against her rear. Despite being younger, and having a sex drive to prove that youth, he was still a romantic at heart. This meant he didn't just grind himself against her, start humping or pawing at her like some sex-starved fox with a helpless bunny at his command. She wouldn't have minded, in all honesty. It took only a few breaths of the warm musk of arousal permeating from under the blanket to have her own blood heating, and the slightly more intense slide of his claws through her belly fur to have her hips writhing. The motion sharpened the contact with the growing arousal until she intentionally adjusted her hips to allow the still growing length to slide between the full cheeks of her rear. She smiled when he released a pleased groan, tightened her muscles until she heard the low growl she craved, and then relaxed when his lips moved to the underside of her chin. It was her turn to gasp when his teeth dragged against the beat of her pulse, nipping just to the edge of where it would have been painful as he worked his way down to her shoulders.

"You have the patience of a sloth," she murmured, her tongue sliding over her damp lips eagerly as she felt his paws move lower as his ears moved back up. Clearly, the fox understood her desire to keep their little shelter unbroken and kept the motions of his body to a minimum for the time being. "A move like that and a lot of males would already be inside and halfway finished."

"Quickies are fine," he murmured, speaking a truth that they knew all too well, "but a beautiful, cold Christmas morning like this? Is for snugglefucks."

The laugh that escaped her was shocked, delighted, and heated by a surprising blush that crept up the length of her ears until the pink insides were almost red. Then the laugh mingled with a little whimper when his paws claimed her hips. A weakness of hers, the way his claws dug in painlessly and anchored her hips as he dragged her firmly back against him. It caused heat to spread through her sex as she felt every throb of him between her cheeks, felt him continue to grow as he slid free of the sheath with a glorious heat that made her forget the cold outside entirely.

"Snugglefucks, huh? How romantic," she whispered breathily as she tried in vain to squirm back against him. This was why he took control of her hips like this. He had learned very quickly that she had the tendency to impale herself just to feel him inside of her because she loved the feeling of him sliding so deep that it was almost agony. "Well, we're snuggling. That means we're only missing…"

Her words were cut off, a small whimper escaping her when, after he chuckled against her ear, he used that grip on her to adjust her hips until the tip nudged the already wet folds of her sex. Something about the male just made her want him so easily. Sometimes, he just looked at her in a certain way and she felt the warmth spread. She had never been able to resist or refuse him, even though he seemed to take delight in at least drawing out his resistance to her until she was on the edge of begging. Which was exactly what the bastard fox did now. Even as she felt him nudge the entrance, one thrust from satisfying the ache that was spread into her belly, he intentionally allowed the tapered tip to slip past. The quick flick of that tip of the bud of her clit caused her to gasp, then groan in a mixture of frustration and delight when his length nestled between her thighs rather than inside of her. Even worse, as the feeling that heat against her folds made her want to grind for some friction between them, his paws kept her still.

"Niiiick," she whimpered, frowning at the chuckle that growled into the back of her neck as he nipped, then bit softly, then melted her muscles into a jelly-like substance made weak by lust when he firmly clamped his jaws on fur and skin to pull her head back so that every inch of her body was pinned against him as he arched his hips back.

He filled her, that sexy growl deepening while he did so, making it so that she felt every last inch of him through that vibration. The fullness was something she wasn't sure she would ever get used to, never wanted to get used to, as she opened to greet him. Just the feeling of him entering her while holding her in his complete control was enough to make thoughts vanish like smoke. Smoke that was blown away by the huffs of heated breaths and hungry growls from the fox behind her. Yes, he was just as eager and needy as she was. She felt it in every strong throb of his arousal, every low groan that was almost drowned out in the growls, and in the wayhis paws had tightened on her hips to the point of blissful pain as he struggled to maintain the control he felt he needed.

"I love you, Judy," he murmured as he released her neck, only to rain light kisses and licks down the side of her throat as his hips pressed flush against hers. "I know you're not supposed to say it when…"

"Only when you don't mean it," she managed to assure him, her head tilted back with her eyes closed in bliss as she savored the feeling of being filled, surrounded, and loved by him.

When she opened her muzzle to release the cry that wanted to escape when he ground his hips against her rear, his mouth was on hers again. This time the kiss wasn't gentle or patient. This time his mouth took hers, his tongue sliding against hers in a little battle for dominance that it easily won before he caressed and savored the taste of her. All the while, he was moving. Moving so slowly that anyone watching from outside of their little nest wouldn't have been able to make out the motion of each thrust. But slight as the motion was, she felt every inch of it and him as he rolled his hips back until he was halfway withdrawn before slowly filling her again. It was a process that was made painfully delicious by the fact that his paws never left her hips, never allowed her to quicken the pace even when she felt the pleasure start to build. The soft sounds of pleasure that escaped her into the kiss quickened. She could feel the base of his shaft thickening already, only eased by how wet she was when he slipped it into her again and withdrew with only a little effort.

"If I knot you, we'll be stuck here for a while," he panted against her ear after breaking the kiss. "We still have presents to open."

"Why do you think I wanted to stay home with you this year?" she said, grunting and moaning loudly when he popped the only partly swelling bulge into her again. "Christmas day started… Ah! …right!"

He almost managed to chuckle but it was lost in a needy snarl as she bore down on him when he tried to slide his knot free again. She reached back with one arm to wrap it around his head when he pressed his muzzle against her shoulder, panting lightly as she tightened her slick inner walls until he had no choice but to shorten his thrusts. Then, she felt it really start to grow. It wasn't just the knot that thickened; it was all of him. As full as he made her feel, the aching stretch and strain of the suddenly massive bulb of flesh teetered right on the edge of agony and bliss. To ease the pressure just a bit, she raised her leg and hooked it behind his, spreading her thighs as he quickened the pace with short, quick thrusts.

The increase in friction and need was more than enough, and exactly what she wanted. The slow build only added to the sensations that coursed through her, pleasure that was so intense that she saw spots flashing before her eyes when her body tensed. Intimacy, love, and need bubbled over when he closed his mouth on the base of one ear. The bite, the suction of his mouth, the thick throb of his flesh buried so deep inside of her that she could feel his sac twitch against her thighs as he came close to the edge himself. She didn't wait for him, didn't even try to hold back as those lights became blinding ecstasy. An ecstasy that sent trembles rocketing down her smaller frame when he dragged her back against him with both paws, orange and cream meshed with white and gray as she felt his length leap inside of her. Liquid warmth only kept her from crawling back into sanity when he pumped her full of his seed, every throb so hard and thick that she found herself spinning over the edge again as her leg tightened around him, trying fruitlessly to draw him even closer.

She never came down quickly from orgasms anymore. There was just something about this young Todd that kept her body on edge. That something was mostly his knot, at least on a strictly physical level. And the fact that he continued to cum, continued to spill his seed into her long after they had both gone still. But mostly, it was the fact that no one had ever made her feel like he did, in every respect. She felt physically complete and content, half roasted and most certainly well basted in their now very hot little cocoon. She felt safe and needed. And mostly loved. It wasn't just that they were joined at the hips that made the fox behind her begin a series of touches over her body. It wasn't an obligation that had his fingers, which still trembled from time to time when they were together, sliding up and down her arm as if he was touching someone made of glass. It was love.

She just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

"And a sugar-laden carlatte for my dear Officer Hopps," Nick announced with a foolish little flourish as he handed her the steaming mug, causing her to grin up at him.

"I still can't believe you learned how to make these so perfectly," she commented, breathing in the frothy coffee and carrot juice concoction with pleasure, "considering how much you hate them."

"I like coffee," he said, taking a sip from his own cup of regular latte as he sat beside her on the couch, making her laugh when he continued with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "and I like Carrots. But something about carrot in coffee. Bleh."

She grinned as she leaned into him, resting against the amazingly soft and fluffy sweater he wore as he draped his arm over her shoulder. The Christmas theme knitted into the sweater, red and green stars behind a trio of bunnies singing while holding hands, was her mother's doing. And no matter the fact that the sweater was a little oversized, forcing him to roll the sleeves up every few minutes, he refused to stop wearing his first official Christmas present from her parents. It had been one of a dozen that they'd opened between them after they'd worked up the courage to leave their warm spot to start a fire. The colorful paper was still scattered under the small tabletop tree that they had decided on together, a simple compromise considering his usually busy study schedule and her carefully coinciding duty shifts.

But she knew there was one last present to give him. One that she hoped this handsome, loving fox would see as a gift.

"Nick," she began, drawing a lazy 'Mm?' from the fox as he contentedly sipped his coffee while his paw lightly caressed her shoulder. "I need to tell you something."

"Hm?" he said, seeming more alert now. Maybe it was the nervous tone in her voice, which she was one hundred percent certain was noticeable now. "What is it, Carrots?"

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out far more easily than she expected, feeling him go very, very still beside her. She waited for a beat before she looked up at him, determined to be calm about it. And instantly started to ramble. "I went to the doctor to confirm it. I wasn't sure how to tell you, or if I should even tell you today. Then I started thinking about silly things. Like, I was going to wrap up like a gift - the pregnancy test, I mean – and give it to you last. I even did it! At least, I got a box for it. It's hidden in the closet. But then I realized how silly that was, to risk ruining Christmas with a present that you might not even want."

She stopped speaking when his eyes, which had been wide and round until that point, narrowed on her. Then, very gently, he set his mug on the side table and pulled himself to his feet. Fear skittered through her when he walked away and disappeared into the bedroom, but she forced it aside as she jumped down and rushed after him while she continued.

"I know you're probably not ready, but we both knew there was a chance it could happen, even without help," she said, stopping at the door to see him rifling through the top shelf of the closet until he grew still when his paw landed on the box. He took it down, and she watched with her heart in her throat as he opened the lid with unsteady fingers to stare down at the little plastic test and it's two pink lines. She swallowed her heart back down when he stared at it for a moment in silence with his ears pinned fully back against his head, then closed the lid and set the box down on the bed. When he started to move towards the dresser where she knew most of his clothes were neatly folded, panic started to leak into her voice. "I don't want you to think that I expect you to marry me because of this! We don't have to change anything! Please, don't…!"

She had started to say 'don't leave me' as she rushed towards him, but was brought up short when he turned to face her with a small, neatly-wrapped package in his paws. A package that was gently pressed into her paws as she stood there with nothing intelligent to say entering her mind for a long moment.

"Open it," he said softly as he dropped down on one knee as he often did to put them at eye level.

"Nick," she began, desperately wanting some sort of response to the news she had just given him. She stopped, releasing a slow sigh when all he gave her was a motion of his eyes to the package again. Frowning a little, on the edge of being miserable, she ripped the shining silver paper from the package hurriedly and pulled open the little white box within. Laughing despite herself, feeling a little bit of the pressure ease in her chest, she looked down at the handcuffs resting on the bed of cotton at the bottom. Unable to stop herself, she reached in and lifted them from the box, her finger looped in one cuff so she could dangle them between them. "I don't underst… Oh."

It was the faint, out of place 'clink' that drew her eyes. She focused on the tiny golden band, with its beautiful clear stone on a low base, neatly looped on the closed ring of the cuff. Desperation and fear turned to a mix of emotions she couldn't even begin to describe when she raised her eyes to him again, realizing that he wasn't on one knee to put them on even ground this time.

"I don't need a reason to marry you, Judy," he said softly, holding his paw out to her. She could see instantly that the hand wasn't empty. In his palm pad was the key to the cuffs, and access to the ring. "Last Christmas, you gave me a new chance at life and a love that I never expected could be mine. One year later, after all the happiness you've given this young Todd, I knew I needed you for every other Christmas to come."

"Nick," she began, but paused when he reached out to take her hand and place it over the key.

"And now you tell me that you're carrying my kit," he continued, leaving her paw over the key as he reached up to brush away tears she hadn't even known had started to trickle through her fur. "If you say yes, in one year, you'll have taken this fox who had nothing and give him everything he wants in this life."

Tears escaped freely now as she laughed a sob and tossed herself into his arms, finding herself easily caught and wrapped up in the strong arms and ridiculous sweater.

"Yes, you dumb fox!" she cried, her voice muffled by his chest as she clung to him.

She was lifted from the ground and swung around once or twice by the exuberant male, laughter ringing through the bedroom when she was set back on her feet, standing on the bed. Eye to eye with him, she grinned and wiped the tears away with one paw while he beamed at her. And just when he opened his muzzle to say something, there was the distinct snap of handcuffs being closed around his wrist. To his credit, he looked only slightly bemused as he raised that paw and the one she had attached to it. The paw that now, as well as being cuffed, also held the glinting golden ring on her middle finger.

"Look like we caught each other this time," he commented, using his now trapped paw to draw her close before he pushed her back onto the bed with his chest. He paused for a moment as he leaned over her, his free paw sliding softly over the belly that had yet to show any sign of her current condition. She felt herself go soft inside and her heart warmed at the expression of pleasure and happiness on that handsome vulpine face before he raised his eyes to her. "Christmas is the best."


End file.
